Golden Dreams · Sogni d'oro
A bedtime meditation for a warm evening on the Italian coast
For sleep39 min · Lee + Twins
Meditations
Meditations with ocean sounds
8 meditations, 13–39 min each
After rain, the ocean is the natural sound people search for most. Every meditation here has the sea under the voice, from waves close by to a calm sea far off.
Why the ocean
Waves rise and fall slowly, and they never quite repeat. Your attention can ride them without having to follow anything. Some people find their breath slows to meet the waves. Nobody has to try for that. It’s just something people notice.
A 2021 review brought together studies of natural sounds and health. Across those studies, natural sounds went with lower stress and better mood. Water sounds were linked most strongly with good health and good feelings. The authors suggest one reason: steady water sound covers other noise. The results varied a lot from study to study, so take this as a good sign, not a promise.
The ocean in these meditations
Nothing Held has slow guitar over waves on a shore. Here, in Your Body has a swell rolling in close by. Quiet Current, to Sleep and Being, Awareness, Joy have a calm sea far off. Golden Dreams lets small waves lap a harbour wall all night. Most are for sitting or lying down during the day. Quiet Current and Golden Dreams are for bed.
Being, Awareness, Joy
On Sat-Chit-Ananda: being, awareness and joy, looked for as already here
26 min · Jessi + Twins
Coming Back
A first practice: coming back each time the mind wanders, without keeping count
20 min · Lucas + Twins
Quiet Current, to Sleep
For a night when sexual arousal or restlessness keeps you awake
For sleep29 min · Lucas + Twins
Nothing matches all of those. Try clearing one.
Further reading
- Rachel Buxton and others, “A synthesis of health benefits of natural sounds and their distribution in national parks” (PNAS, 2021).
- Cassandra Gould van Praag and others, “Mind-wandering and alterations to default mode network connectivity when listening to naturalistic versus artificial sounds” (Scientific Reports, 2017).
- Jesper Alvarsson and others, “Stress recovery during exposure to nature sound and environmental noise” (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2010).
Resources
- Meditation music
How to choose music for meditation: rain, ocean, sound baths, singing bowls, binaural beats and 432 Hz. What each is, and a meditation to try.